RedMax EBZ8500 review

I don't know if I'll be able to get it posted tomorrow or not, but for sure I should be able to by Thursday.

I am curius why you went with the hip mounted throttle. Was it a persoanl choice, or was that all that was left in stock when you bought? Several dealers I have been to, or caled lately are out of tube mounted control type blowers, so they must be coming into their own.

I have no specific issue with anyone who does use the hip mount, especially since it seems that until recently, that was considered the only "professional" way to go. I just can't see any use for it, and I've ran both types. The ease of havng the throttle control right at your finger tips while your hand is already on the tube handle just makes sense to me. I know a lot of guys worry about snagging the throttle cable on shrubs etc, but I have never even come close to doing that, not had any other reason to want to switch over to hip mount.

Darryl G said:

I can also tell by looking back to see how they're hanging and often reach back and feel them to see how firm they are.

I don't know if I'll be able to get it posted tomorrow or not, but for sure I should be able to by Thursday.

I am curius why you went with the hip mounted throttle. Was it a persoanl choice, or was that all that was left in stock when you bought? Several dealers I have been to, or caled lately are out of tube mounted control type blowers, so they must be coming into their own.

I have no specific issue with anyone who does use the hip mount, especially since it seems that until recently, that was considered the only "professional" way to go. I just can't see any use for it, and I've ran both types. The ease of havng the throttle control right at your finger tips while your hand is already on the tube handle just makes sense to me. I know a lot of guys worry about snagging the throttle cable on shrubs etc, but I have never even come close to doing that, not had any other reason to want to switch over to hip mount.

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Had a 8001 with the tube mounted throttle. Could not keep the on/off switch working. Seems the wires were too short. The hip throttle has been flawless.

I don't know if I'll be able to get it posted tomorrow or not, but for sure I should be able to by Thursday.

I am curius why you went with the hip mounted throttle. Was it a persoanl choice, or was that all that was left in stock when you bought? Several dealers I have been to, or caled lately are out of tube mounted control type blowers, so they must be coming into their own.

I have no specific issue with anyone who does use the hip mount, especially since it seems that until recently, that was considered the only "professional" way to go. I just can't see any use for it, and I've ran both types. The ease of havng the throttle control right at your finger tips while your hand is already on the tube handle just makes sense to me. I know a lot of guys worry about snagging the throttle cable on shrubs etc, but I have never even come close to doing that, not had any other reason to want to switch over to hip mount.

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no they had both i just prefer the hip. don't always have my hand on the handle usually just hold the tube

I've always had a hip mounted throttle. The 580BTS is my first machine with a tube-mounted throttle and I like it better. If frees up my left hand for picking up sticks and I have better throttle control for blowing out beds without disturbing the mulch. My only concern is catching the exposed wires on shrubbery or on something in my truck bed and ripping them out.

I've always had a hip mounted throttle. The 580BTS is my first machine with a tube-mounted throttle and I like it better. If frees up my left hand for picking up sticks and I have better throttle control for blowing out beds without disturbing the mulch. My only concern is catching the exposed wires on shrubbery or on something in my truck bed and ripping them out.

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I got 580bts with a tube-mounted throttle so I could use handheld blower at the same time when I am in a super fast mood.

Using a handheld blower with something like the 580 really doesn't help much. If you want to get serious strap on of your other blowers on your chest. I do that with mine...EB 630 on my chest with the 580 on my back and the 10HP Billy Goat on the ground. Carrying two blowers is a bit tiring so sometimes I'll just use the 580 and the Goat.

I have 2 8500's. Way more power than the 8050's. Uses more fuel and is louder. Lighter. Taller and narrower so is a bit top heavy, if you keep them in the back of your truck. The back pad is a little different but no less comfortable. I like the handle on the air tube in that the handle rotates rather than the tube itself. Seems like a nice feature.

Paid $540 total for one and $568(paid extra $25 for shipping/special order) for the other.

One other thing, being a strato-charged engine they are a bit harder to start when cold. If warm, they start first or second pull.

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My BR600 starts right up when its cold. I'm still going to buy a Redmax 8500 so I can have the best of both worlds!

The problem is that I have to bend the flexible portion of the discharge tube back fairly hard on the one on my chest and it can get tiring. It's not something I do all of the time, but for pitching a pile into the woods it works great, espeically if you use the backpacks to feed into the air stream of the wheel blower.